Umno and PAS are working together on common areas for the benefit of the people, not out of a “political alliance,” said Umno information chief Annuar Musa.

“The cooperation does not mean that Umno will join PAS or PAS will join Umno.

“The cooperation extends only to common points such as economy, administration, politics and polls,” he said yesterday, as reported by the New Straits Times.

Annuar added that people should not be confusing Umno and PAS members by claiming the two parties have a political alliance.

He also provided examples of cooperation between the two parties over common points such as the Rohingya issue and proposed amendments to the syariah law as brought by PAS.

Yet another example, he added, was the cooperation between the PAS-led Kelantan state government and the federal government in helping to develop the state.

“Don’t shut the door to cooperation.

“If PAS had once worked with DAP, what is wrong with working with Umno?” he asked.

Annuar insisted that it would be up to Umno president Najib Abdul Razak to decide on a political pact between the two parties for the 14th general election.

“We have agreed to work on the common points and that is what we are doing at the moment,” he said.

Previously, Annuar had said that Umno and PAS shared the “same DNA” and a similar overall goal of championing Islam and the Malays.

He then predicted that there would be “some form of cooperation” between Umno and PAS from time to time, although adding that this would not necessarily entail a formal pact.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, however, responded by saying that the party is “very certain” that there will be no negotiations with BN in relation to the upcoming general election.

The decision came from the party’s ulama council, he said, which makes it binding.

“Annuar is joking about how we (PAS and Umno) come from the same DNA but that is just propaganda lah,” he noted.